In light of recent reports of several projects at Microsoft being cancelled alongside a host of lay-offs across the company, a new report has indicated that one of the cancelled projects was ZeniMax Online Studios’ next game. According to IGN, the entire development team for the game – an MMO codenamed Blackbird – has been cut.
According to the publication’s sources, Blackbird was slated to be an entirely new sci-fi IP that would have been completely separate from the studio’s other big title, The Elder Scrolls Online. The game is said to have been in development since 2018, and the studio was reportedly making an entirely new game engine to power it.
It is worth noting that, while things were going according to schedule, Blackbird hadn’t yet entered its full production phase. Rather, the title was still in pre-production, and was expected to have entered full production “soon”, with full approval from Xbox to scale up the development team.
Interestingly, one source also mentioned that the team had been told by Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty that the studio closures from early 2024 – namely Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and Alpha Dog Games – happened because the company wanted to ensure that it had the resources to scale up other studios that might need it. This was supposed to include ZeniMax Online Studios for its new game as well.
Along with the Blackbird team, the overall team at ZeniMax Online Studios only learned about the project cancellation, the team being cut, as well as studio president Matt Firor stepping down through reports in the news cycle until the internal email about the lay-offs went out.
The departure of Firor from ZeniMax Online Studios was announced through a social media post recently. According to the announcement, Jo Burba is taking over the position of studio head, alongside Susan Kath becoming an executive producer. The leadership team will be rounded out with game director Rich Lambert.
“While I won’t be working on the game anymore, I will be cheering you on and adding to the thousands of hours I’ve already spent in-game,” wrote Firor in his announcement. “There are many more stories to be told, adventures to be had, and I know this amazing community will carry that shared legacy and success forwards.”
According to a report from earlier this week, Microsoft has been making lay-offs across a host of its divisions, including several studios under the Xbox banner. In an internal note sent out to employees by Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer, the lay-offs were described as being done to “position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas”.
Among the cancelled projects, Microsoft has also cancelled shooter Perfect Dark. As part of this, the company has also shut down the development studio, The Initiative. Along with this, Rare is also facing some lay-offs, along with the cancellation of its project, Everwild. The studio is reportedly due for a “major restructuring”. As part of this, veteran game designer Gregg Mayles is also leaving the company after having worked there for over three decades.
